More reports now on home abuse

The Star

IPOH: More women have come forward to lodge police reports since the Domestic Violence Act was passed in 1996, said Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir.

The social activist said the Act had enabled women to be daring and expose the abuses that their spouses had committed.

Marina said violence against women and children occurred at any time and transcended race and age.

“A victim of violence should not be blamed because of how she was dressed.

“A thorough study must be conducted on the cause of the problem,” she told reporters after the launch of the Kampar district-level “Men Against Violence” campaign near Tanjung Tualang yesterday.

“It is also everyone's responsibility to provide a safe home and community for women and children to live in,” she said.

Marina said it was unfortunate that, even with the Act, violence against women had not abated in the country.

Citing statistics in 2007, she said there were 3,756 such cases in a year.

“More than 800 were reported in Selangor, alone,” she added.